Red Static
by newbie-otaku
Summary: SasuSaku "I don't want to love you..." "We've fallen so far in to this, we can't just run away..." Sasuke is released from prison and Sakura tries not to let her old emotions boil over. What happens now that he's back? M-cursing/violence
1. Chapter 1

I stood outside of Ino's door for what seemed like an hour

I stood outside of Ino's door for what seemed like an hour. I fidgeted with the bottle of sake tucked neatly under my arm and, for a while now, I had been wondering about the strangely earthy smell I had picked up somewhere between the liquor store and her doorstep. I looked down at my black flip-flops and grimaced.

Dog shit. Figures. I rolled my eyes and groaned. It seemed like an omen, but I tried not to dwell too much on that thought. I should run while I had the chance.

Ino opened her door, wearing her reserved little smile for when customers usually arrived at the flower shop. However, as soon as she saw it was me, her smile grew, showing rows of bleach-white teeth.

"Sakura! You made it!" Ino pulled me into a hug, which I gladly returned. She looked me up and down. "And on time no less."

"Actually, I'm early. AND bearing sake." I swished the bottle in front of her face and she rolled her eyes. She knew me all too well.

"I swear, Forehead-girl, your pervy sensei has rubbed off on you more than you lead on." Ino took my coat and the bottle of sake from me and hung the coat on the hanger. I followed her into her kitchen where she put the bottle on the counter.

"Hey, at least being late isn't hazardous to my health little miss 'cigarette'." I countered. Ino pouted a little, which would have been cute had she not been wearing a deep purple cocktail dress. She loved playing hostess.

Meanwhile, I paled in comparison. Ino was drop dead gorgeous with flawless skin, long silky-smooth blonde hair and blue eyes that could only be outshone by my teammate, Naruto, and of course, the deal breaker: her c-cup bra size.

While I have bright green eyes and light bubble-gum pink hair and small b-cup boobs. Wearing a long black skirt with a light green cami didn't really help my situation much either. I was odd and I knew it.

"Hey, at least I have a valid reason for smoking, alright." Ino wagged her finger at me. I looked down at the floor. "My reason is the same as yours, remember?" I sad quietly. Ino gave me a sympathetic look and gave me another hug.

Chouji popped his his head put from the doorframe. "Well if it isn't Sakura-san!" He smiled and walked into the kitchen. I giggled a little bit. "Nice to see you too, Chouji." I gave him a quick hug, my arms barely going all the way around his frame.

"So," I breathed. Ino and Chouji looked at me, "What's for dinner?"

They smiled and I followed them into the dining room, where the sweet smell of grilled chicken and corn on the cob was floating in the air. I loved Sundays.

--

--

"See you later forehead!" I no shouted out the door, Chouji's arm casually resting on her waist. I waved back and nodded, then continued my journey home. But I could swear that out of the corner of my eye, she gave him a little kiss on the cheek before closing the door.

I remember when they first got together, stuck under the mistletoe two Christmases ago. We tease her about it, and about how they are polar opposites...but Ino just rolls her eyes and brags about how sweet he is and how good of a chef he is and always corrects someone when they call him fat. She will get up in your face and wag her finger, "He's not fat! He's fluffy!" and go on and on about when they cuddle. She is helping him eat healthier, so he's not as big as he once was, but he's still a little chunky. And, as a trade, Ino had to agree to try all of his foods that he cooks, no matter how many calories it has. Then, Ino decided that his cooking was 'the best in the world' and makes me come over every Sunday evening for dinner. I always complain about it, but I enjoy it more than I show.

Chouji makes the best dango.

I reached my house, left to me after my parents decided to move to a quieter, safer town just north of here. After the second war, they couldn't take seeing their shinobi friends die in battle, or watch me fight. The house was small, but it held plenty of memories. I redecorated the whole house to my liking and arranged my old bedroom to be a guest room. It was perfect.

I took off my shoes, placed them by the door and took my plastic bag into the kitchen. Ino always has Chouji make extras for me to take home later, which I enjoy usually as a pick-me-up at work when I have late hospital shifts.

I took a quick glance at my clock. 10:43.

"I need to get some sleep..." I mumbled to myself. I don't really know when that habit started, but it's familiar and helps keep my sanity.

I walked into my room and picked up the old Team 7 picture, then sat on top of my bed and stared at it. It's a daily routine...it has been since Sasuke left with Orochimaru eight years ago. I can't believe it's already been this long...

My fingers traced the old photograph and lingered a bit longer on his face.

"You've changed so much..." I whispered, remembering the day that everything changed.

Madara had announced war on Konoha, with Sasuke standing by his side. He was emotionless and distant. Kakashi-sensei, Sai and I were standing there, just looking at them, prepared for the worst.

And it got so much worse.

I can't even remember all of the people that they killed, civilians and shinobi alike. And his sharingan...changed. It's red color even more sinister than before.

_He was wearing an akatsuki cloak. He looked just like his brother..._

_I walked into an abandoned alleyway; the smell of blood was everywhere. And... what I saw I didn't want to believe. Sasuke was standing over Kakashi's body. He was dead. _

_I remember not moving, just standing there...frozen. Sasuke calmly looked over at me, his emotionless façade never faltering once. _

"_Sakura." He acknowledged. I took a step back. How could his voice be so perfect when everything else was so...disturbed. My breath was coming out in shallow pants as I backed up slowly, our eyes never breaking contact. His sharingan was still in the first stage, but it was still hypnotic. _

_As soon as I blinked, he was gone._

_Hot breath tickled my neck. I didn't dare turn around. _

"_Sakura..." he breathed. This wasn't fair! I couldn't do anything, nothing! I was twelve again...I was weak._

_I heard him pull his sword out of its sheath, and he pressed it against my neck._

"_Where is he?" _

_No. No, this can't be happening...why? Why does he want Naruto? He can't really be in the Akatsuki...can he? No...No...why?!_

_Sasuke pressed the blade closer to my skin, drawing blood. "Tell me, Sakura," he whispered, "I have ways of making you talk."_

Tears slid down my face as I lingered on the memory. I was lucky that Neji, Kiba and Shikamaru were able to knock him out when they did. As soon as he was down, I applied a drug to slow his movements and keep him asleep until we reached the ANBU headquarters.

I haven't seen him in the past 4 years. I never even gave a visit to him while he was locked up in the high security prison. He has four guards stationed outside his door at all times, I can't believe how short his leash is.

The man he was with, Madara, made a run for it at the last minute, realizing that Naruto was far out of his grasp. At the time, he was at , training with the old frog to be a sage. He came back two years ago and, after we told him what had happened, he went crazy with emotions. It took the rest of the 'rookies' to calm him down, and eventually he decided to pay a visit to Sasuke, and talk with him there. I turned down his request to join.

After he was done at the prison, we both went for a walk...I remember it so clearly...to the memorial stone where our sensei's name was now engraved. We cried and mourned. He cursed Sasuke repeatedly...I stood a little stronger than he did though...he was breaking. It was all I could do not to upset him any further. Naruto has lost so many of his precious people to all kinds of circumstances. I haven't lost nearly as many.

So...that night...we cried in each other's arms, comforting one another. We felt more like brother and sister than anything. The next morning, we both wore fake smiles, hiding any real emotion. Even after four years, the pain still hasn't really subsided.

I decided then...I wasn't going to die for him. He would probably lose himself if any more of his nakama died.

I decided to stay a medical ninja, but I am currently station to train others in the medical field and I am only called out to battle under important circumstances. I needed the comfort of being able to spare Naruto with one less loss.

I put the photograph back down on the shelf, dusting the glass off. It was raining hard outside. Through the window, I could see water flooding off the roof, like a curtain enveloping my house. The roar of the rain drowned out everything else.

No one deserved to be outside in that.

The doorbell rang. It usually had the obnoxious decibel count of a warning siren for an enemy attack, but I could barely hear it over the waterfall pelting my roof. I got up off my spot on the bed and walked over to the window to get a better look. Usually, even under the best viewing circumstances you could only see a small fraction of the person standing at the door. Maybe a back of the head and a little bit of their ass if you were lucky, but with the rain the way it was, you couldn't even see the sidewalk.

I hesitated. I was home alone, something that never really bothered me before, but the weather made me wary. Who would be out in this downpour? In my mind, there were only two possibilities--an insane enemy shinobi bent on my destruction, or a religious fundamentalist visiting from another village. If I was really unlucky, it would be the latter. I could have pretended not to exist, but I was a person with a social conscience. The weather _was _pretty bad. Hell, I would let a talking frog in for tea and a blanket.

So I opened the door.

The man was tall, very tall actually. He towered over me a good fourteen inches, of course, I wasn't one to talk; after fifteen I never grew a centimeter past five-three. He was wearing a dark jacket over a drenched t-shirt and jeans. He had one hand in his pocket and the other was holding dark, dripping hair away from his eyes. Niagara falls pored over him. His clothes stuck to his body and as he shifted his position, I could hear the _squish_ of rainwater in his shoes. He looked at me and blinked in the rain. A sad look appeared on his face as his dark eyes met mine.

"Sakura..." he said.

"Sasuke!" I yelled over the noise. "Oh my God! Sasuke! Don't stand out there in the pouring rain! Are you crazy?"

His eyes widened a little bit. I could see his body relax considerably.

"No." I added. "Fuck off."

And I slammed the door in his face.

--

Oh...my...god. Oh my god. Ohmygod.

I ran to my bedroom again and checked my calendar.

March 2nd.

Shit. My hands gripped my hair, threatening to leave me bald if I pulled any tighter. How could I have missed this?! Sasuke was supposed to be released from prison yesterday! I collapsed onto my bed and released my hair from my death grip. Instead, my hands decided to place a pillow in its grip, which I gratefully buried my face into and screamed as loud as I could.

There was absolutely **no way** that I was letting that traitor into my house. Screw the fact that I was in love with him, he brought eight years of misery to my life, moments I will never get back. I freed my pillow from suffocation, stared instead at the whites of my ceiling, and groaned. Tomorrow was going to be hell.

I dreamt of his face. Tears stained my pillow.


	2. Chapter 2

"No, Fuck off

"No, fuck off." She glared at me before slamming the door in my face.

Burn.

I know I deserved it, but she shouldn't have gotten my hopes up for one second and then throw them in my face.

The rain was beginning to be even more of an annoyance when thunder sounded two seconds after the door. Kami was beginning to like twisting my life into knots.

"_Teme!_ Get your treacherous ass down here!" I could barely hear Naruto's screaming over the sheets of rain pouring over my head. But **his** voice could cut through anything.

I walked back down the front porch stairs and back onto the sidewalk where _dobe_ was waiting with an umbrella.

Not that it would help my situation any.

Naruto just stared at me. In his hands was the trigger to the alert. _If _I ran. I have nowhere to run to, it's just a precaution.

"I told you..." Naruto pocketed the trigger again and handed me the spare umbrella. "She doesn't want anything to do with you. Do you know how much you hurt her?! I've seen Sakura shed a thousand tears too many for you."

I took the umbrella calmly from him and closed it. There is no way I'm getting any dryer with only a plastic dome over my head.

I just stared at my feet the entire way back to the apartment. Currently, Naruto and I were to live in a secure, bugged, two-bedroom apartment for three months; another precaution.

"Sasuke, are you listening to me?!" I grunted a quick answer. "You _have_ to talk to her. One way or another. She deserves to know everything; **every last detail**. I don't care when or how you do it, but you have to."

Naruto kept preaching the whole way back to the apartment. I never really answered him, just acknowledged that I was listening with nothing more than a sound. I already knew everything he was telling me, the guilt was somewhere in the back of my mind, slowly torturing me.

Sasuke Uchiha: The traitor, the heartbreaker, and the apparent masochist. Why do I keep torturing myself?

While I was in prison, I could feel myself slowly going insane. Questions about my life, my brother, and the secrets he kept from me. Of that coward who calls himself _Uchiha Madara_.

Nevertheless, the thoughts about her were the ones that kept getting to me, kept eating away at me. Her smile, her laugh, the way she cried was enough to drive me to tears as I remembered every little thing I've done to her.

Besides my memories, I also realized many things in prison. The first one was why they didn't want to kill me. The second was that I would never give them the satisfaction of seeing me fall to their pathetic attempts to get me to go through with it. Then the third realization: I was probably going to end up doing it anyway.

These three things all equaled up to the revival of the Sharingan, my blood, **my clan**. That one thing turned into the arrow that pointed directly at Sakura. She was the one person I couldn't kill, the only one I want to protect, and the only one who possibly possesses the power to bring me to my knees and _beg_.

We finally reached the apartment, and Naruto unlocked the door. He had to. He was the only one with the key. I still hadn't said anything to him, but he just shrugged it off and walked to his room while I walked to mine. I collapsed onto my bed and just stared at the ceiling for a while before finally drifting off to sleep.

I dreamt of her. I was kissing her tears away.

Damned clichés.

--

I pulled the sheets even tighter around my head as Naruto was trying to pull them off of me.

"_Teme!_ Get your lazy ass OUT of bed NOW!" I could feel him pulling as hard as he could to get the blanket off my face. The bottom half of me was freezing. My boxers only covered so much. Why the hell does he keep his thermostat down to 65?

I felt the sheets loosen up as Naruto gave up. But the next second I felt an extra weight on the bed. He was on top of me. I didn't dare take the blanket off my head now. Seeing his butt-ugly face in front of mine would bring back a very disturbing memory...and possibly last night's dinner.

"Get out of bed or so help me I am going to rip your boxers to shreds, take pictures of you and sell them to your leftover fan-girls."

I punched him in the face. The weight left and I tossed the blanket aside. "I'm up." I immediately got up and walked past my 'roommate', who was currently rubbing his cheek, and locked myself in the bathroom. I can't believe he actually had a decent threat. Usually his threats included beating me up, which never really worked out.

After I was finished, I walked to the kitchen and grabbed an orange from the counter. Naruto was already up and eating a bowl of "Fruity Pebbles". Just what he needs: sugar for breakfast.

"We're gonna try again today," he mumbled through a mouthful of cereal. I just nodded without looking at him as I peeled my orange. He didn't have to explain, I already knew he was dead-set on trying to get Sakura to forgive me enough to at least pretend that things were back to normal. I don't know why he's trying so hard. Things will never be the same.

Of course, we had a little bit of a longer time today. Sakura apparently doesn't work on Monday's, which is when she and Naruto go out to Ichiraku for lunch. He probably had some stupid scheme up his sleeve. The only thing I'm even slightly worried about is being on the receiving end of one of her punches...or kicks. Heaven forbid she hits below the belt.

We both finished out breakfast in silence and headed out the door. On the way to the bridge, I received many looks and points and whispered comments. Of course, I expected this. I didn't care what people thought of me.

"Do you think she'll show up?" Naruto asked. Although, I'm not so sure that the question was for me. I shrugged anyway. About five minutes later, we saw Sakura walking, albeit a little slowly, towards the bridge. She was staring at her feet, trying not to look up, and her hands were crossed awkwardly across her chest. When her feet made contact with the cement of the bridge, she glanced up, but kept her gaze on Naruto.

"Hey," she breathed. Naruto just gave her a small smile, which she returned. They were both obviously fake. Sakura shot a quick glance my way, looking straight into my eyes. It was only for a second, but I could read her like a book.

She was scared of me.

"So," she looked up at Naruto, trying to avoid talking to me as much as possible, "What's the plan for today?"

As she and Naruto tried to sort out a small schedule for their rare days off together, I took this time to really look at her. Since I was so clearly left out of the conversation, I figured I needed to look.

Her hair was the same as the time I saw her in the catacombs, the same shade pink, cut just above her shoulders. It suited her better than her long hair back before the chuunin exams. It shaped her face, and exposed her neck more. Her outfit changed, keeping her color scheme, a red, skin-tight sleeveless top with the collar, and a black mesh. She wore just beige sweat-pants for today, since she wasn't doing much. At twenty-one, she looked more like a woman than a girl, with a small waist and more hips. Her chest wasn't much bigger, but it suited her small frame. I could see all of the scars that lined her arms as well as a few on her face, some older and lighter than others. She had a bandage on her left arm from a recent injury, but it didn't look too bad.

If I were any less an Uchiha, she might have pulled a reaction. I kept my composure as usual.

"Well, I guess we're down to the usual." Naruto grinned. He probably meant another Ichiraku trip. Sakura just rolled her eyes playfully, apparently regaining herself after having a normal conversation with Naruto.

"Alright! Let's go, _Teme_!" I rolled my eyes, and let him drag me by the wrist for a few feet before pulling away and following casually behind. Sakura was keeping her distance by staying as close to Naruto as she could.

Sakura is strange. She can be aggressive at times, but she has a strong conscious. She probably feels guilty. That doesn't explain the fear in her eyes, though. She's seen what I'm capable of and I'm pretty sure she knows more than she lets on. Having her ignore me... It's...new. Not like how she used to be at all.

Naruto steered us both into Ichiraku, placing Sakura in between us. That's all part of his 'plan', if he even has one at all. Sometimes, I think he just makes it up as he goes along.

"Two orders of Miso Ramen please!"

"I'll have beef ramen, please."

"Pork." I nodded to the waiter. A simple answer gets the point across.

We ate in silence, just kind of awkwardly sitting there, until Naruto shouted, "Alright, let's go!" He then pulled Sakura and me towards the old training grounds.

Along the way, since Naruto had both our hands in a vice grip, Sakura and I kept bumping into each other, earning a blush from Sakura and both of our eyes avoiding contact. She would grimace every time, annoying me even further. She would probably much rather be kissing Shino than even brushing against me. I tried to push the thought of her and bug-freak making-out from my mind.

Not a pretty thought.

When we were finally there, Naruto released our wrists, and Sakura just kind of inched away from me. She grabbed her left wrist where Naruto had pulled her. Naruto turned to face us, now looking more serious than before.

"Alright. I'm not going to beat around the bush: What _exactly_ happened to you two the night Sasuke left?"

Sakura and I both froze. He was _much_ more vigilant than I gave him credit for. I would have suspected that Sakura would have told _someone_ the whole story. If she kept that night a secret...what else is she hiding from us?

**Beta's Review: Absolutely stunning! Stunningly hilarious! And hilariously desirable! Hehehe…Did I sound professional enough? Well, it's certainly one of the best and EASIEST chapter/story I had to edit, and it was certainly my pleasure. The little laughs every once in a while…I wish I could tell you each and every one of my reactions for all the jokes you made. The way you boldfaced some of the writing, capitalized others, and italicized most was more genius than ****I**** could have done. Except for a few mistakes that are only visible to the non-writer, this was excellently made. All I have to note is that "Fruity Pebbles" was put in quotations though I couldn't really specify if it should be like that or underlined. Putting in quotes felt more appropriate, but feel free to correct after researching. You've certainly left the readers, myself especially included, in an anxious daze at the end of this chapter. How will you dazzle them in the next?**

**My Best Regards,**

**TMRomance (or dramatictenjitard if you post this in DeviantArt)**

**PS – I would like this note (and a bit of credit to the beta) to be included wherever you post this. Please and thank yous.**


	3. Chapter 3

"Alright. I'm not going to beat around the bush: What _exactly_ happened to you two the night Sasuke left?"

I grit my teeth and snarled.

"Nothing. Happened." My eyes bore into his. Drop. The. Subject. Now.

"Bullshit Sakura!" Naruto fisted his hair violently. I wish he would hit me sometimes…god knows I deserve it. "You two have a lot of unexplained shit I'm sick and tired of being left out of." He paced back and forth in front of us.

"Naruto that was_ years_ ago, it has nothing to do with anything!" I turned to leave but apparently bad luck was targeting me this week.

"Do you not want to admit that you're being just as weak as the day I left?" Sasuke monotoned. I could feel him looking at me, all I was doing was standing around in the grass looking like a pissed off garden gnome.

I hadn't realized I'd said anything until I was already in his face yelling.

"Do you honestly still think I'm twelve?! You have NO idea how badly I want to hurt you Sasuke. After all you fucking did to me, to Naruto, to KONOHA! I should break your face, heal it, and break it again!" I stomped my foot on the ground and sent a spurt of chakra at my foot. The effect was like an earthquake and I could feel the trees uprooting a bit.

Stupid pompous ass wasn't even blinking.

"You are weak if you let emotions get in the way of everything you do."

I couldn't help the little laugh that escaped my throat. "…I? I let _my_ emotions get in my way?" my voice was quiet, "after what you did…running away from konoha, following Orochimaru, all because you said you _hated_ your brother so fucking much you needed to kill him…you have the _gall _to say that **I** am the one with weak emotions?!" My feet stomped toward him, his expression looked off with his eyebrows furrowing his hands clenching. Good. I wanted him to hit me.

Naruto stepped in between us, keeping me from advancing any closer. "Sakura stop it! Forget I asked I don't want either of you to get kill-"

"SHUT UP NARUTO!" I grit my teeth and growled. "Hate is an emotion, Sasuke-_kun_. Revenge is an idea, Sasuke-_kun_." I spit. "Don't call me weak when I stand here and remain sane while_ your_ soul dies because _you_ were the one who was weak enough to be consumed by _your_ emotions."

Sasuke just stared at me, our faces just inches away with Naruto still holding me back.

"Fuck you." I walked away.

----

He tried to kill me. So many times he's tried to kill me. And so many times before that he's tried to save my life. How can I still be so stuck on the Sasuke I used to know?

I decided to take the long way to the Yamanaka flower shop. I needed a quiet walk…time to think.

When he was my friend. My teammate. The boy I had loved…

He's not the same anymore, and I know that, but I can't help but think that he's the same somewhere in his heart.

The chuunin exams…he saved me from the team from the sound. Even then he was power hungry and easily influenced. His power was immense…and even though it scared me to see him like that…I know that the reason he used that power was to save me. After I had cut off my hair and gathered more courage to protect them. He asked me who had done it to me and when I couldn't explain that I had done it to myself somewhat…he just _attacked_. It may not have been a sign of affection but it definitely was a sense that he cared for me…even just a little bit.

He's gotten so cold now. His heart his mind seem so far gone. From being used and lied to and loosing so many people.

He tried to kill me a few years ago, with a teammate dying on the ground in front of him. He didn't even care that she was suffering. I don't even think that she meant that much to him, just another tool to get where he wanted to go. Karin I think her name was…

I'm an idiot for thinking he _wouldn't_ try to kill me then. I wasn't anything special. Who was I to him except a nuisance?

And since when was there a sake bottle in my hand?

Oh right, there's a liquor store on the way to the flower shop. I wasn't even paying attention when I was buying it. I took a swig anyway. Gross.

Let me drink. Let me just drown in alcohol. Preferably the fruitiest, girliest drink possible. The taste of sake and vodka makes me want to gag.

I pushed open the door to the flower shop…roses and sake. What a combination. Ino rushed to my side, "Sakura what the hell did you do?"

I just stood there. Ino wiped her handkerchief across my eyes; was I crying?

She led me over to the staff lounge and gently sat by my side on her couch. I like this couch, its very comfy.

"Its about Sasuke, isn't it?"

I just nodded. My brain felt like it had gone numb and words were to complex to form at the moment and my tongue wasn't obeying anyway.

Then all I could feel was this ache before the tears came pouring out again.

---------

A/N sorry for the really really uber painfully long hiatus everyone D: my computer busted and I had to save up to get a new one and then writers block and AAAAAARGH senioritis stress. I hope I can fit the story to the now developing plotline and I will try to get my beta to check some of the newer chapters

I am so so sorry for the wait, I thoroughly enjoyed writing this and new ideas are on the way :D

Reviews make me smile :3 feel free to yell at me for hiatus…ing XD


	4. Chapter 4

I want my family back.

I want my life back.

I want my brother…

My mom…

My friends…

I tossed and turned all night on my bed. Sleep wasn't an option right now, so why force it?

The Hokage should have killed me. The villagers are terrified of me; my classmates hate me and most think I _should_ have died.

But no. The sharingan is valuable. It's a power that the elders would have wanted to keep to themselves should I ever procreate. It felt so liberating to kill them.

How was I to trust that they would even consider letting anyone from my family live? They easily demolished my entire clan; they could have done it again. It's only because of Tsunade that I trust that any family I could have would be safe. But it would be better if the sharingan ceased to exist altogether. No more darkness no more power to the world. No more family secrets or forbidden jutsu. No more pain.

Naruto was to become Hokage in one month. Tsunade was old and weak and could no longer hold the position, and Naruto was the perfect fit. Not to mention he earned his title and would uphold the position well. I heard his father did a pretty damn good job when he was Hokage.

And Sakura…was a medic. I don't think she was ever suited for killing anyone; she had a soft heart for anything capable of taking a breath. Hell, I remember her nursing a baby bird back in the academy days. Regardless, the occupation suits her well.

Her appearances haven't changed much at all from a distance…but up close I've seen so much more really has changed. Her hair darkened a bit with age and the scars that showed were just faint light pink scars, long been healed.

She hates me. She _should_ hate me; she should fear me and she should have started a riot to have me killed. I will do anything not to have her acquainted with me again. Ignore her and insult her and call her weak. Sakura needs to forget me.

Why does she instill so many reactions I try not to show…her anger this afternoon was almost enough to make me loose my temper, and the chakra was still lingering around my fingertips. No matter what I won't hurt her.

Looking around my room I noticed that the walls were unnervingly bare since this was supposed to be a temporary solution. The only natural light filtered through the gossamer curtain covering the barred window on the west wall. Artificial light was given by nothing but a tableside lamp, although it lit the small room sufficiently. Clothes had been given to me, standard issue clothing like sweat-pants, jeans, shorts and shirts. At least they were new and clean. I don't plan on embellishing them with my crest; I'll do that when the clothes are completely mine and not some ANBU issued clothing with tracking devices sewn in.

I need to sleep.

"She had a point, teme." Naruto cooked himself a bowl of ramen for breakfast. He needs ramen like a fish needs water, there's no point in trying to break a habit. "You need to stop moping around and move on."

I said nothing.

"Sasuke…" he pursed his lips and rolled his eyes. I just stared at my glass of orange juice and stayed silent.

"Why did you try to kill her?" he asked.

"She shouldn't have been there."

"She loved you."

"It doesn't matter. She was in the way."

"Is everything she does wrong in your eyes?"

"Depends." I took a sip. "She needs to stay safe in Konoha. Not poisoning her teammates to look for me." The orange juice was expired. I rose, dumped the juice down the sink drain and headed towards the door.

"Where are you going?" Naruto stood, trigger button at the ready. "You aren't allowed to leave without an escort." He slowly walked towards me, pocketing the small black device.

"Nowhere…I just need to get out of this house." I placed my hand on the doorknob. "Feel free to follow. I just need a walk." And out I went.

I walked aimlessly, not really thinking, not really aiming for any destination in particular, but I found myself staring at the ruins of what I used to call my home.

Caution tape surrounded the area. Abandoned and forgotten with all of the rubble still piled in the ground. The only difference was that the plants seemed to have more life in them now and he grass was unkempt and overgrown. No one seemed to want to go near this place. SO many deaths had happened here…I'm sure there have been rumors of ghost stories. Funny how the family that wanted to take over was stuck roaming it in the afterlife. I don't believe the rumors though. It's too quiet here. The calm after a storm, although the storm has long passed.

How many years has it been?

My hands grazed the edges of the wall, tracing the crack where my brother's kunai lodged into the rock; right into the heart of the Uchiha family crest.

There is this empty feeling of being here. Like there is nothing left for me in these ruins? No meaning, no ties to my old home. I felt hollow. I've left this place behind and I've been gone for so long that this place doesn't belong to me anymore. I don't belong here. The feeling of Home, of loss and sorrow has been replaced.

I can leave this place without regret or sadness.

I should have Tsunade-sama tear down the old housing; to build a memorial for my family. Including my dear brother.

Naruto was waiting for me outside the gate to the complex.

"Find what you were looking for Teme?"

I didn't answer.

Naruto rolled his eyes and started walking. I guess its time for lunch at Ichiraku. Again.

The walk was fairly quiet, mostly because villagers walking leisurely down the street would slow their pace as we walked by. They continued to stare at our backs, but they can rot in their own pathetic existences. I don't need sympathy or fear from anyone here in Konoha. What I need is silence; and my own apartment. There is too much noise here…

Naruto 's pace sped up as we reached the ramen stand…and we walked right past it?

"Sasuke there's someone you need to see."

"Oh?"

Naruto's face grew solemn as he walked towards an old building. It was partially worn and aged but half of it had been completely reconstructed and rebuilt. The old clearly separated from the new but connected together by the framework nonetheless. I remember seeing Shikamaru up here, cloud gazing and thinking, The Lazy Genius. Hn.

We scaled the fire escape to get to the rooftop of the building, where Shikamaru was sitting on the floor alongside of Kurenai and the woman from Sand, Temari if I remember correctly. In his arms was a small child, no older than 3 or 4, trying to learn how to set a simple trap.

"Sasuke, huh?" Shikamaru nudged the child off of his lap to stand, the little girl jumped up with a smile and ran to Kurenai and Temari on the bench. "It's been a while." He brushed himself off.

"7 years, just about." I nodded in his direction. "Is she yours?" I gestured towards the kid.

"Hm? Oh, no, not at all" He pointed towards Kurenai, "She belongs to Kurenai and Asuma-sensei. Conceived right before his battle with Akatsuki." Shikamaru looked lovingly at the child. "She's my student, Asuma left her under my care" he smiled a bit.

"So, what are you two here for?"

"Just introducing Sasuke to the newest Konoha ninja" Naruto grinned. No, this meeting was much more than that. He was showing me our future, the hope and will we entrust the new generation with. We will have to pass along everything to this new generation, regardless of anyone's past mistakes and failures, in order to build a stronger village.

"We'll see you later, alright Shikamaru?" Shikamaru nodded. "Nice seeing you Temari-chan! You too Kurenai-sensei!"

Kurenai laughed, "Nice seeing you again Naruto." Her daughter waved at him shyly, and Naruto waved back with a grin.

As we walked back towards the apartment we passed by the Yamanaka flower shop, where through a window I could see a back door closing on a mop of strawberry blonde hair and a half gone bottle of sake. Sakura took a large swig of the bottle and reclined on the employee couch before the door finally shut.

"You and Sakura need to make peace, Sasuke." Naruto said. "Right now I'm pretty sure she'd rather die than forgive you but…" he shook his head.

"Things would be much simpler if she never forgave me."

Naruto and I kept walking in silence until we reached the door to the apartment.

She really shouldn't forgive me for what I've done. No one would blame her for shunning me. Despite this attraction I admittedly have for her…my world would be much easier if I were alone. Having her hate me is something I deserve; I would feel guilty and selfish if she loved me again. I can't give her what she needs.

Fuck me.

I sat down on the shitty spring mattress the ANBU issued us, it's cheap and I always wake up with a kinked shoulder or neck.

Naruto walked in with a cup of instant ramen in his left hand, a pair of chopsticks in the right, mouth half full.

"Shashke shoo meed shto shpeak wish shakura-shan" he swallowed. "I want you both at my wedding. COOPERATING." He pointed at me with his chopsticks and then took another bite.

"Wedding?" Since when...?

"Me and Hinata of course! In 3 months she will be my Miss Hinata Uzumaki!" Naruto grinned from ear to ear. "I want you to be my best man Sasuke."

No. No, no, no I can't be your best man. I betrayed you. I tried to kill you! Why are you trying to make me feel like this is a team again, Naruto! We're not a team anymore. We're broken! You want me to see you smiling and happy with your wife walking down the isle…I can't do it… I shut my eyes and hung my head in my hands.

"Please, Sasuke. It's all I'm asking." He sat next to me and placed his hand on my shoulder. "One huge favor. You know I already forgave you for everything."

"… I can't."

"Think about it…alright?" He flashed me a smile and left me there…

Damn it all.


	5. Chapter 5

Ino was kind enough to let me drown myself in sake until I couldn't gather any straying droplets that might have escaped. Ha. I even ran my finger along the rim of the bottle, craving more if the bitter taste it left in my mouth. Pathetic.

I walked down the main street between the Hokage's office building and the Entrance gate. I found myself turning right at the hospital and walking towards the old Uchiha Clan ruins. Looking down I see the empty sake bottle I planned to throw out…I guess I forgot.

Up ahead of me, the gate to the Uchiha district stood covered in overgrown foliage, faded caution tape and rubble.

I looked down at the porcelain bottle in my hands and back at the wall. A faded Uchiwa Fan, the Uchiha symbol, provided a nice, clear target.

The bottle shattered.

My knees feel so weak… next thing you know I'm on the floor on my hands and knees puking everywhere. Broken glass is digging into my shin and my foot but at the moment I'm too numb and drunk to even give a damn.

I'm gonna need Tsunade-shishou's hangover remedy…

I got up off my knee and sat sown, my back against the wall to the ruin. Beside me was a shard of the bottle; a pink dab of paint was left of what used to be a cherry blossom flower painted on the bottle. Broken. It reminded me of the childish game we used to play; he loves me, he loves me not.

He killed me. He killed me not. He killed my heart and my trust. He didn't kill my body. Instead he left me in a puddle of our teacher's blood and then got locked away in a prison cell for 4 years.

I threw the shard as far away from me as I could and buried my face in my hands and sobbed.

This was so pathetic of me. I want to hate him. I want to scream and yell at him and cry! To blame him for everything that he's done, to our village and to me…

My chest fell. I know…I know that I still…FUCK. WHY? Why do I have to have feelings for him still after all these years?

_Ino tried to take my bottle away from me, reaching out gently. "Sakura, you can't let him take over your life like this…it's not healthy!" I moved the bottle out of her reach._

"_Ino you don't understand!" _

"_Yes. I do, Sakura." She moved over to the couch beside me, "You __love__him." _

"_No, Ino, I don't." I took another swig of sake._

"_Yes, Sakura, byou do. /b" she grabbed the bottle and put in on the coffee table. "Answer a few questions to prove it." I shrugged. _

"_Do you think about him? Even if they are bad thoughts?"_

"_Yes." I grabbed the drink again. _

"_Does your heart hurt when you see him?"_

"…_Yes" Gulp._

"_Do you dream about him?" She asked._

"…_Only sometimes." I took another drink._

"_Is he the hot leading male in all of your sexual fantasies~?"_

"_INO!" I elbowed her as she teased me. Obviously her attempt at lightening the mood failed. _

"_Oooh~ kinky" she winked. "Listen, Sakura, you have to at least talk to him." Ino put her arm around me and replaced the bottle on the table. "Maybe you can forgive him…maybe not, but you can at least give him hell and make him explain…well…to the best of Sasuke's speaking capabilities anyway." _

I sighed. No…I refuse to sort anything out with him. If he wants anything resolved, he has to say something. I'm going to keep him out of my life for as long a humanly possible.

I got up off my ass and walked away from this place. It was starting to depress me further than I already was.

On a lighter note I still need to get a dress for Hinata and Naruto's wedding; the date was set for June 27th so I still have a bit of time left to find a nice dress. Hinata said anything in a light lilac color was fine, just as long as it wasn't flashy. I have to look good as a maid of honor after all. I've passed by some shops but haven't seen anything that really suits me…Ino had her dress picked out three days after it was announced. I suppose Sasuke will have a part in it too, knowing Naruto. Grin and bear it, right?

I'm a pretty long way from home…maybe I'll sober up along the way…

"Sakura?" I whipped around and saw Sai standing there, holding a…is that a camera?

"Holy shit, Sai, you scared me!" I held my heart as it raced just a bit.

"You didn't sense my presence? My chakra wasn't hidden at all," He inquired.

"No…I've been drinking a bit and I'm tired. My guard isn't up as much as it should be."

"Are you drinking because you are depressed or angry? Or was there some sort of social gathering?" He fiddled with his camera. It looked old and outdated, like he bought it in a yard sale if only to test it out. Artist.

"I guess I'm angry…" I did smash a bottle against a wall.

"Is everything alright Sakura? I figured you would be happy since Sasuke-san has returned." He smiled halfheartedly. "Sakura...?"

I sighed and looked towards the road behind me. "No, everything is not alright, Sai." I kicked a pebble, "I don't want to have to deal with Sasuke right now…I'm not ready to face him, after all that's happened between us, between our team…nothing is the same anymore and I don't want people going around pretending to go back to the way it was 7 years ago!" I wiped my eyes as they started to tear up.

"Sakura-san, life shouldn't be lived backwards." He put a hand on my shoulder as a comforting gesture that's so like Sai. "You can either forgive and forget, or you can ignore him and hate him for the rest of your life. You still love him don't you?"

I didn't know how to respond so I just nodded.

"Sasuke was lost and he let his emotions take over these past few years, you at least need to hear him out or give him a chance to explain." And with that, he left.

Everyone is against me here. Since when is Sasuke the good guy and I'm the bad guy?

It's four in the morning…time to go home.

* * *

"Sakura-chan~" a voice called out to me. Soothing.

"Sakuraaaaaa~" I felt something poke me in the side, but I'm too tired to care right now. Leave me to sleep. Mnuh.

"Sakura!"

"OOF!" I felt a heavy weight drop onto my stomach and now I couldn't get up even if I wanted to. Sitting on top of me was a very hyper brunette.

"Get off, Tenten." She grinned and hopped off onto the edge of the bed, making the mattress bounce furiously.

Hinata stood by the door politely and smiled. "Good morning Sakura."

"Morning…" I sat up in my ratty old T-shirt, an old one from Naruto's actually… He let me keep it after I needed a change of clothes from a recon mission; my shirt was practically burnt off.

"Ugh, what time is it?" I rubbed my eyes and propped a pillow behind me.

"It's 9am so rise and shine sleepy head!" Ino strutted in with a smirk on her face. "We can't let you sleep in and waste the day now can we girls?" She looked at Tenten and Hinata, a knowing smile playing upon her rosy red lips.

Oh no…March 28th…

"Happy Birthday~!" They all sang at once. I pulled my covers up and over my head, hoping and praying that this day would be done and over already!

No such luck, Tenten yanked the entire blanket off of my bed, and me, effectively leaving me without a shield. My friends are ninjas; a blanket shield is imperceptibly useless.

"Alright, Sakura we have the entire day planned out for you" Tenten grinned playfully.

"First things first, lets get you out of that ratty old T-shirt and into something sexy~" Ino mused as she rummaged through my closet. "It is your 21st birthday after all, we have to celebrate accordingly." She frowned, dissatisfied with the choices laid out before her in my mess of a closet. She wasn't about to find much, the sexiest thing I own is black lace lingerie that Ino bought for me last year, as a joke that I really needed to get laid.

"Do you have anything in here that isn't hospital clothes, pajamas or training gear?" Ino's hands went straight to her hips as she looked at me disapprovingly.

"Yes, I have bathing suits." It's my birthday I'll be a smartass if I want to.

Ino tossed me a low cut white tank top that I usually use for training and a pair of dark skinny jeans that, might I say, make my ass look incredible. She also dug out a thick red belt to go around my waist and a matching pair of strappy red heels, fashionable but not sensible. There was no point in arguing with her anyway.

"Put these on, I'll find you some accessories and we are out of here alright?" she shoved the shoes and belt into my arms and they left me in my room to change while Tenten raided the fridge and Ino and Hinata planned out the day, probably with a bit of shopping involved.

I got changed and Ino handed me some black stud earrings and they parted my hair to the right so some of it fell in my face.

"Alright ladies, first stop: Coffee Shop" Ino dragged me out of my house and on our way we went.

It'll be nice to have a break from everything, from the hospital work and the constant attempts at mending our team by Naruto, all of the ramen invitations I've had to make up excuses to decline, stuffing my work schedule and avoiding anything to do with Sasuke.

This is the only day all of the girls have a day off, from missions and from their daily lives; Tenten is teaching weapons 101 in the academy, Ino has the flower shop to look after and Hinata has been so busy planning her wedding and worrying about every little detail. It was nice having a girls day out for once.

We grabbed a few drinks at the local café and sipped them as we walked through the streets of the shopping district of Konoha, just a simple street packed full of merchants of every sort; food, clothes, toys, accessories, weapons, surplus… you name it they sell it.

Apparently the plan for tonight's big birthday celebration, courtesy of one Ino Yamanaka, was to go out to The Underground; an elite club for members of ANBU to relax and unwind, getting their minds off of the missions and killings with a full bar and extremely sensual dance music. Here, the ninjas come in as themselves and are given the option to 'change', to put on a disguise and become someone else for a few hours. There are two changing rooms, men and women's. Each room has a plethora of clothes for your selection, anything you could ever want to try on, naughty or nice, slutty or modest, will be within your grasp. Their selection is enormous so no one ever has a problem finding something to wear, and most prefer to wear their own clothes anyway. The dressing rooms also contain wigs, temporary hair dye selections, shoes, accessories and full-length mirrors in all of the changing stalls.

This is an escape, and what happens Underground stays there.

We decided to go on a shopping spree for the perfect clothes of our own for my 21st birthday celebration. The girls dragged me from store to store trying on various different full outfits, straight down to the lingerie. They expected me to get drunk enough to go home with a guy and get myself some well needed sex therapy, and maybe that was what I needed.

"You're too uptight, Sakura let loose a little bit!" Ino gave me an armful of clothes and pushed me back inside of the dressing room. I've seen a few things that looked good but weren't comfortable, and many other things that looked good on the hanger…just not on me. Having my hair and my bra size makes things complicated.

"I don't see why you guys are so interested in my social life as well as my sex life" I tried on a silvery shirt that hung loose and low around my neck. I looked like a starving rainbow trout. I hung the shirt back up and threw it over the door. "Nope."

"Sakura you've been too busy with your hospital work and the occasional rescue mission and you've been training like crazy! You probably have a better 6 pack than I do!" Tenten said from the stall next door. Hinata had already found her outfit, a light blue tank top dress that went down to her mid thigh that she paired with some sleek black leggings and a black belt and jacket. The theme was to have only one piece of our outfits be colored; it was Ino's idea to coordinate. Not like I'm complaining, Hinata looks beautiful in her outfit.

"Sakura I picked out some things you might like, I hope I got the right size from the rack." Hinata knocked on the door and I retrieved the neatly folded stack of clothes with a pair of boots on top. I had on one of Ino's selected ensembles: A black tank top that was ripped strategically to show my cleavage, and could clearly show my belly, and a pair of tight skinny jeans.

"Ooh Sakura you look hot!" Ino admired her taste. "Try on what Hinata found, I'm curious"

"Alright, alright!" I took of the skin-tight shirt, which was no easy task; it felt like it was stuck to my skin. I looked through the pile Hinata gave me and they were all separate pieces to one outfit. It was a one-piece short black tight romper; sleeveless with the top bunched together at the bust with a silver ring hooking it together, showing a bit of cleavage, but not enough to be considered indecent. It fit like a glove; form fitting and comfortable. Hinata had also found a belt made of silver rings linked together to match the one on the romper. I quickly hooked the chain to the right link around my waist just a bit loose so it hung low on my hips. I took the boots from the top of the pile and slipped them on; comfortable suede with nice padding on the inside, that bunched up look to the ankle high shoe. The added height made my legs look longer and the black and silver combination looked so sleek that any added color would ruin it.

I always knew to trust Hinata and those eyes of hers.

I opened the door to the stall and confidently placed my hands on my hips.

"What do you think?"

Hinata's eyes lit up as she saw that I was wearing the outfit she had picked out. "Oh Sakura you look incredible!" She looked a bit proud of her choices.

"Thanks Hinata, your choice was amazing I absolutely love it." I gave her a hug and stepped back to show Ino.

"Not bad! Don't add anything else to that outfit, it'll ruin it." Ino walked over to me and fixed the hanger tie that was hanging out of my armpit. "Very sexy Sakura. You better use all of that," she gestured up and down with her hands, "on the dance floor tonight. You are going to unwind and relax whether you want to or not."

"Trust me, I'm about ready to just drown myself in music. Does The Underground still play Korean and American?" I ran my fingers through my hair, nervously.

"Of course! Its gonna be fun, I invited everyone to come." Ino said happily. I just stood there semi frozen in place.

"Everyone?"

Well shit.

* * *

Don't worry, this won't be one of those "oh they go clubbing and she seduces him and they get sexed up" stories. Oh no. This is further developing Sasuke and Sakura's interests in each other and not to mention will have many surprises next chapter. I will have fight scenes and ninja scenes and all that good angst-y romance.

I love you all~!

~Chels


	6. Chapter 6

"No."

"But-!"

"Absolutely not."

"Sasuke!"

"NO."

"Please?"

"Not gonna happen." I took a bite out of an apple in another futile attempt at Naruto's nagging request.

"Just one little party?"

"No." I sat back down on the couch in our otherwise bare excuse for a living room. It has a nice view of the wall with the coffee stain, courtesy of Naruto knocking the cup out of my hands one morning. The table was gone because after the coffee incident Naruto's head slammed into it and destroyed it… although that part was partially my fault.

It's been two weeks since we last saw hide or hair of Sakura. She's been hiding, running away from us. Me. There was no reason for me to show up to that party, I would only be an unwanted guest.

"Show her you care about her." Naruto dropped himself onto the empty space next to me.

"Sakura has made it clear that she doesn't want anything to do with me in her life." I took the last bite out of my apple and tossed it into the trash bin.

"You know I'm going to drag you with me tonight, no matter what you say." He punched me in the arm and grinned wickedly.

"…Yeah." I got up from the comfortable seat and went to my room.

Sakura has been avoiding me. Her patience for me is thin and I'm not going to try and press that. Lately she's filled up her schedule with hospital work and interrogations, as well as the occasional mission where a medic was necessary, someone with Sakura's skill and precision.

Naruto told me that when I was admitted to the hospital soon after my capture. Some time in battle they had managed to knock me unconscious. Sakura was the one to tend to my wounds and, with the aid of Naruto's fiancé, seal the chakra pathways in my arms. The left seal has weakened over the past 4 years, leaving me able to do basic ninjutsu and a pathetic summoning.

I walked over to my closet and grabbed the nearest pair of jeans and a black shirt. This would do for tonight, seeing as Naruto isn't supposed to let me out of his sight and he promised to pay for drinks. Although I doubt I'm going to be the drunk one tonight.

The party was due to meet at a place called The Underground. How stupid. Just another club for people to get so drunk they fuck whatever is moving underneath them. And I'm not looking for any indulgence. I've never needed it before so why should I waste a night on a drunken girl foolish enough to let me take them home. I have higher standards than that. I wouldn't touch her.

I changed clothes, put on fresh deodorant, ran my fingers through my hair to fix it. Good enough. The shirt I choose ended up being a V-neck but it's too late to change now.

Party starts in 15 minutes.

…

We walked through the noisy crowd waiting to get inside the club. You could already hear the bass from the music thumping against the walls. Ino, Hinata, Chouji and Sakura stood against the brick wall of the building, waiting for everyone.

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata waved us over shyly, Naruto grinned and made a quick dash over to his fiancé and kissed her forehead. "Good evening Sasuke-san." Hinata smiled and bowed politely as I walked over. I bowed my head back to her in response; we grew up in families where manners were beaten into us, it becomes a hard habit to break.

"Guys you made it!" Ino hugged Naruto and then swayed over to me to give me a half hug. Her breath already reeked of a fruity alcoholic drink and I pushed her off of my shoulder.

"Awe come on Sasuke-kuuuuun" she slapped my shoulder with unnecessary force, "have some fun! It's Sakura's birthday tonight and you better behave." He finger poked me in the chest repeatedly as she grinned. Chouji pulled her away from me, thank god.

"Sorry Sasuke, we went out to dinner and she swallowed Sakura's birthday jell-o shots at the bar." Ino giggled and kissed Chouji on his cheek.

"But they were delicious~" she cooed.

"Hey! Sakura didn't drink her birthday shots?" Naruto put an arm around her. "Sakura-chan you _really _need to lighten up. Those cobwebs in your crotch can't last forever-wooah!" Sakura kicked Naruto swiftly behind his kneecaps, sending the blonde toppling over. I couldn't help but feel the corner of my lips twitch in a small expression of amusement.

Sakura looked up at me, he small stature only reaching my chin in those heels. Her green eyes looked at mine for a split second and then turned away. I could see her hand clenching nervously, out of anger or fear or both.

Every month I have to go in for an interrogation and a medical check. Have the seals on my arms restored. Get drug tested. I was told Sakura was supposed to do the treatments but my first medic was someone unknown; Sakura never even showed up.

"Everyone ready?" Tenten hopped over, Neji Hyuuga trailing close behind at a much more relaxed pace.

Ino hollered excitedly and pulled Sakura towards the bouncer, standing just outside of the velvet ropes.

She said something to the man and he nodded and stopped the line, moving the velvet rope to the side.

"Come on guys!" everyone followed in. I stuck by Naruto and Hinata towards the back of the group.

We passed the changing rooms on the inside; everyone was already dressed. The inside of the club was crowded and **loud. **I could barely hear Naruto's obnoxious voice over the thumping base of some nasal-y woman singing "Gimme more" over and over again.

This has to be the purest form of torture.

Ino waved to Kiba, who was apparently saving us a table inside, a booth big enough to seat 20 around a circular table.

Naruto and Hinata slid into the booth, Naruto was trying to get Hinata to dance but she's shying away. Ino bought a round of martinis for the girls and beer for the guys.

Everyone sat around the table and got a little tipsy, my beer still only half full. Maybe if I got a little buzz I could drown out this insanity.

"Hmm Chouji we should dance, ne?" Ino slurred and turned towards her boyfriend. In the dim light you could still tell that Chouji was blushing but he got up with Ino and went further into the mess of people, surrounding themselves for privacy and to save us the pleasure of watching her grinding drunkenly against her boy-toy.

"Hinata please~" Naruto begged, "Just one little dance, I promise. You will be dancing at our wedding though!" he teased her. Hinata blushed and nodded, and they got up to dance. Kiba, Tenten and Neji had already dispersed on the dance-floor. From where I was I could barely see Tenten's buns over the crowd, dancing along to a new song. The lyrics were something along the lines of "Take it off, everybody take it off."

Crude.

Sakura sipped her strawberry daiquiri and glanced up coyly at me, her face completely bored.

"Happy Birthday." I said. Sakura raised her eyebrow and took another sip. She barely heard me over the noise but she could read lips just fine.

"Yeah…" Her gaze traveled out towards the crowd. She flicked her eyes back to mine and glared a bit, then chugged the rest of her frozen fruity drink. Sakura stood up quickly, pushed the empty glass to the middle of the booth and climbed over the table attempting to get away from her place at the booth as quickly as possible.

"Hey Sakura-chan! Lighten up a bit and dance why don't you?" Chouji rejoined the group of friends now dancing in the same general area, sans Tenten and Neji.

"You know what?" She straightened her…incredibly tight tube top…and walked out to the crowd. A new song started to play over the last one as it ended, the DJ's screen flashing the name and artist.

Fire by 2NE1; a Korean song. The beat was steady and the strobe lights flashed in time with the base. Sakura tapped a guy on the shoulder and he smiled seductively at her, giving her entire body a once over with his eyes before turning around and letting her be his dance partner. I watched as she grinded her hips against his rhythmically, raising her arms above her head and then through the stranger's hair. I had this urge to pull her away from him and make her sit back down, but her body moving with the rhythm of the music was completely mesmerizing. The beat sped up and so did her hips. The stranger held her hips and pulled her body towards his and my anger with this stranger grew. She turned her body around and faced him, rolling her body from her shoulders to her hips and he pressed himself against her. She turned back around and continued to grind against him. The song took on an Indian tone and Sakura did a little belly dance and I saw her green eyes look towards me while she continued to dance.

They warned me to stay away but they also showed she was mocking me. Telling me that I messed up and she would never forgive me. Her eyes tell me that she hates me and I was paying for it. I could never have her.

This sensual girl could have been mine, once upon a time.

She continued to dance throughout the song up until the next one started to play, I didn't bother to check who it was because I was watching Sakura thank the man for the dance and saw the stranger cup her ass and disappear back into the crowd to find another partner. Sakura rolled her eyes and headed towards the bar. She leaned over the counter, giving the bartender a generous view of her cleavage and I read the lips of the bartender as he offered her a free drink if she would be so kind as to show him what she was hiding under her outfit. She politely declined and, dear god, reached into her bra and pulled out ¥1000 for a martini. The man smirked and pushed the bill back towards her and fixed her drink on the house.

Obviously Sakura has learned some new tricks on manipulation, probably kunoichi training for undercover missions but I tried not to think about her seducing other men in order to drive a stake through their hearts; literally. She walked casually back towards the bar, setting the glass on the table delicately before slipping into the seat across from mine.

"Aren't you going to dance?" Sakura stirred the drink with her finger before licking it clean. "I mean, usually party-crashers come to party. Not to casually observe." Her green eyes looked up at mine finally, a bit cloudy from the daiquiri she swallowed just moments ago.

"I don't dance and I'm not here because I want to be." My tone came out harsher than I intended. The anger from her dancing with another man boiling up and I forced it back into my subconscious. "Naruto is my parole officer after all." I nodded to the blonde who was dancing goofily with his fiancé by grabbing her hands and moving them back and forth as the Hyuuga was too shy to dance like the others on the dance floor. Naruto took the liberty of helping her dance, albeit a little awkwardly.

"Ah." Sakura sipped her drink and lowered her eyes. She's still angry with me after her outburst and everything else. I couldn't blame her.

The song changed again and I heard Ino squeal drunkenly as she approached the table.

"Ah! This is so much fun~" she slurred. "Happy Birthday Sakura!" Ino grabbed Sakura's drink and gulped it down.

"Hey!" Sakura protested. "You owe me another one Inobuta-chan" she poked her friend and took her empty glass back.

"Sasuke-kun, why don't you dance~? You're back in the village now loosen up and have some fun. You are such a tight ass!" Ino laughed and fell into the booth next to Sakura. I sighed and took a gulp of my beer. I was going to need to be drunk if I wanted to last the next few hours here.

…

"Sasuke-teme!" Naruto pulled me away from the girl I was dancing with. Stupid. "I need to take Hinata home and you can either come with me or get Sakura to take you back to the apartment." The girl tapped me on the shoulder to wave flirtatiously with her fingers before leaving with a wink to find a new dance partner.

"Why do you have to take her home?"

"She fainted because she drank too much and now she's waking up. Now are you coming with me or are you going to ask Sakura to escort you?" Naruto took the trigger button out of his jacket pocket and wiggled it in front of my face. The movement was making me dizzy from the alcohol so I batted it out of my face.

"Take your soon-to-be wife home. Hell you can spend the night with her tonight too. I'll go ask Sakura…we need to finally talk anyway." I mumbled the last part but Naruto nodded his head in understanding and walked with me to the bar where only Sakura, Hinata and Kiba remained. As far as I could tell, Ino and Chouji were still on the dance floor and Neji and Tenten had left about an hour ago. Naruto tossed the small button key ring and it hit Sakura in the arm. She looked up and stuck her tongue out at him.

"What?" She stopped channeling chakra into Hinata to get rid of her headache and turned towards us.

"I'm going to take Hinata home and make sure she's okay." Sakura nodded and picked up the button."

"Why are you giving me this?" she held it up.

"I need you to take Sasuke back to the apartment we're staying at. Sasuke knows the way so you don't have to worry about directions but I'm going to need you to spend the night over there tonight while I take care of Hinata." Sakura started to protest but Naruto ignored her and kept talking. "The apartment key is on the key ring and if Sasuke does anything stupid or tries to run just press the button and it will alert ANBU guards posted near the exit as well as the closest patrol to your signal. Don't kill him." He warned and pulled Hinata up from her horizontal position on the booth so that he could walk her home.

"You owe me for this Baka-Naruto." She growled, a bit unhappy to be crowned my babysitter for the night. I have to talk to her tonight…while I have the liquid confidence to actually have a conversation. I don't want to avoid all this shit anymore.

"I'll be back in the morning, once I get Hinata feeling alright after her eminent hangover, ok?" Naruto pulled Hinata through the crowd of people and out the door. Ino and Chouji still danced drunkenly on the dance floor. Ino was too far gone to care about appearances anymore since she was dancing without shoes and her hair was a mess.

"Let's dance, tight-ass." Sakura pushed my shoulder and placed her hand on her hip. "You owe me one." She took a last sip of her latest drink. It was a miracle she was still standing with all the drinks she's conned out of the bartender as well as all the birthday drinks from others. Of course I've had 4 beers and about half way through the night Naruto offered me ¥2000 if I danced with someone and I decided I could use a few more drinks with the money so I started dancing. I really didn't have to do any work; girls found me attractive enough to dance all I had to do really was sway back and forth.

Sakura pulled me out towards the crowd that had thinned out considerably. A song played but as the night grew and I drank more it didn't really matter what was playing; it all blended together. Sakura ran her hands through her hair and pulled my hands around her own waist and linked her hands behind my neck. She began rocking her hips back and forth and I followed her movements. The beat grew denser and less important. Soon she turned herself around and crossed my arms around her hips, incredibly low. Sakura leaned against me for support as she grinded with the beat. We were so drunk we just kept dancing enjoying the distraction.

Who would've guessed that drunk I would figure out the purpose of this club. It felt relieving to drown in this place. Away from the bloodbath and assassinations of being a shinobi. Sakura and I were clashing in our reality but here we could consider each other just an outlet for an escape. There was no grudge held or forgiveness needed, we just considered ourselves strangers and enjoyed the relief from the chaos that was our reality.

That is, until Sakura realized whom, exactly, she was dancing with.

She stopped dancing and pushed my arms away from her. She turned around and looked up at me, holding her waist where my hands were just moments before. Like I had burned her. She stared at me with sick desperation and disbelief before backing away and sitting at the table again. Her head fell into her hands and started to glow a faint green.

She made me feel so guilty, sometimes. For the things I've said and the things I've done and everything she knows I'll do to her in the future. I walked up to the table and stood at the edge. "We should go."

Sakura stopped pumping chakra into her head, probably from all the alcohol, and looked up at me. She nodded once and stood up, fixing her outfit and grabbed the trigger.

…

Walking next to Sakura was deafening. Neither one of us made a sound. No footsteps or heavy breathing, no polite conversation. We were walking in this heavy silence that followed us up until the clicking noise of the key in the deadbolt.

"Haruno-chan!" Sakura and I turned around to face the voice. It was a man, about our age, maybe older, with his hands in his pocket and a look of mock surprise. "Hey! How've you been?" The man walked up the stairs and gave Sakura a hug, her face looked surprised.

"I'm sorry but…do I know you?" She pushed the man away, trying to be polite. The stranger feigned looking hurt.

"Haruno-chan don't you remember me?"

"No, I'm sorry. Look, It's one in the morning and I have a massive headache so if you'll excuse me…" Suddenly his hand wrapped itself around Sakura's throat, choking her until she fell to the floor. A big shinobi twisted my arms behind my back and pinned me to the floor in front of Sakura.

"You killed my brother, Haruno Sakura. Fighting to protect that precious vaccine of yours." He hissed. Sakura spat in his face.

"What the fuck are you talking about?" she growled, struggling to breathe as the man's hand gripped her throat. The man who pinned me to the floor was now sitting on top of me, stopping me from doing anything to protect her since these chakra seals were limiting me. "What vaccine? Get the hell off of me you jackass!" Sakura gripped his hands and used chakra, effectively crushing his left wrist.

"You little _bitch_!" While Sakura was still on the floor he kicked her hard in the chest, leaving her gasping for air.

"Sakura!" I called out waking her up from the stun she just took. "The trigger-agh!" The man on top of me twisted my arm even more, dislocating it from my shoulder. Fuck!

Sakura jumped up and grabbed the key from the deadbolt and quickly pressed the button before the stranger slammed her into the door, grabbing her hair and using his body to pin her.

"Look you little whore, just tell me where the vaccine is and I'll let you live." He seethed. Sakura spat in his face again, pissing him off.

"You can kill me 20 times over and you still will _never_ find it." Sakura stared the man down and he pulled her head back by her hair and bashed her head into the door.

"Tell me!" he yelled, knocking her head over and over again, giving Sakura a gash on her forehead that bled down her face.

Five ANBU members rushed to the apartment in the swift silence that only expert ninja possess. Without wasting any time they apprehended the two enemy shinobi and knocked them unconscious without effort. Sakura slowly stood up to talk to the patrol leader in a sparrow mask.

"Thank you." She said simply. The ANBU leader nodded his head and looked towards me.

"Do we need to take Sasuke Uchiha into custody as well?" Sakura looked towards me and shook her head. I held my shoulder into place as they spoke.

"No. He had nothing to do with their attack. They were trying to get to me." The ANBU officer nodded in understanding and left to detain the attackers. Sakura turned and walked towards me.

"Let me…" She moved my hand off of my shoulder and I winced at the pain as the pressure was relieved. Sakura quickly popped my shoulder back into place and used her chakra as an anesthetic to numb the pain. "Let's…go inside." Sakura picked the trigger and key off the floor and unlocked the door.

"Why were they after you?" I asked. Sakura ignored my question and went to the kitchen sink to rinse off the blood from the gash on her forehead. She missed a huge streak that had dried around her ear so I reached for the towel to help her clean it off, but she backed away, frightened.

"What?" she snapped and took the towel back from me. "Just…go to bed Sasuke, alright? It's been a long night." She turned away from me and continued to clean the dried blood off in the reflection in the window. Her rejection stung a little but I wasn't about to push it. I walked towards my bedroom and changed clothes before heading to bed. I could her the sink running as she washed the blood off of the towel and the faint sound of rustling. What were those men after? They asked about a vaccine and Sakura was the one who had it. She was a medic, perhaps she developed it or maybe she was withholding information for Tsunade-sama.

I sat on my mattress, listening to the sounds coming from the next room. Sakura was sleeping on the couch instead of in Naruto's room. I could hear her gently lie down and sigh after a long day. A part of me willed to go out there and tell her goodnight…to show her that she still mattered in a way. Sakura had always been here for me, whether or not I wanted her to be. I always expected her to be here in Konoha with open arms, waiting to care for me and talk to me just as she used to. I expected her to pretend that everything was fine. Instead she ignores me…loathes me for everything that I've done to her and to the village. And yet despite my guilt I won't apologize for what I've done…

I'm not asking for her forgiveness or her trust…

I'm asking for her voice. Say something to fill the silence, please, Sakura. Tell me where we stand.

I miss you.

…


	7. Chapter 7

I don't remember having a nightmare, but I do know that I woke up screaming.

I quickly sat up on the makeshift couch-bed and breathed heavily. I could feel the ringing in my ears as I recover from the deafening sound I managed to create.

Sasuke opened the door to his room and looked at me, his eyes searching for anything wrong.

Suddenly I remember why I started screaming. It was a memory, or multiple memories of Sasuke just…resurfacing all at once. The good and the bad…

"Go away Sasuke." I snapped at him and walked over to the kitchen to get a glass of something, anything. As soon as I got up my head reeled and I felt like the room was spinning. My hangover was starting.

Sasuke swiftly caught me as I tumbled into the coffee table, but I shoved him away.

"Don't touch me!" I glared. His hands burned but he let go and step back, looking pissed off.

"You scream and expect me to just ignore it?" he bit.

"I expect you to just forget it happened and leave me the fuck alone." I continued towards the sink and grabbed a glass out of the cupboard.

Sasuke grabbed my arm causing me to drop the cup, shattering it on the floor. "Why were you screaming?" I pushed him back and winced as I stepped in the broken glass.

"Why do you care?" I yelled. "I'm in the same house as a traitor, that alone is reason enough for me to scream." He recoiled a bit and snarled. "You know what, I wasted 4 fucking years of my life trying to get you back. I thought maybe I could start over with you if you did, but obviously you had other plans. Now all I want is for you to fuck off and let me get on with my life!"

"You know why I had to leave Sakura, I had needed to become stronger. Falling in love with _you _wasn't on my to-do list!"

"Don't give me any of that sob story bullshit Sasuke, boo-hoo for you! I know what happened and you were so blinded by revenge you didn't think anything through! And I never expected you to love me back!" Sasuke pushed me against the wall and held me there.

"You think I wanted this?" he snarled. "I never asked for any of this" He pushed me farther into the wall and the alcohol made my head spin. "I wasted everything only to realize it was a lie and my brother paid for that lie with his life!" I hazily looked at him and hissed.

"You still took the power Sasuke, and where did it get you? You lost _everything._" I struggled against his grip but in brute strength, he definitely won. "Show me that precious power of yours was worth it! I'm sure your brother's eyes were!" I screamed. "Kill me Sasuke, finish the job! Show me you severed your_ bond_ with me." Sasuke growled and grit his teeth as he pulled his fist back and I cursed myself for flinching as his hand crushed through the drywall just inches away from my head. His head hanging low and our breathing matched, labored and sporadic.

His left grip loosened around my wrists and he rested his head against the wall, his breath tickling my ear.

"I can't kill you…" he breathed. A shiver went down my spine as his words faded and I hated him for being able to cause it.

"You've tried to kill me twice before, why should killing me now make a difference?" I said softly. "If your worried about your precious freedom in the village just kill me and run, that should be easy for you. After all, you managed to successfully run from us for 3 years" I stayed as quiet as I could to hear him move…breathe. To convince myself that even he is human. Sasuke still didn't respond. I just stared at his shoulder and looked at all the scars and burns…something was missing. There was a small puckered scar in the crook of his neck.

"The cursed seal…" I whispered. Sasuke's head jerked up and looked at me, a sad expression on his face as he read my surprised look. "How is it…gone? It…you had it and I thought…" I stumbled over the words. I remember the chuunin exams so clearly, when he got that retched seal on his collar. How he warned me not to tell anyone. All Kakashi could do was try to contain it but even that didn't work. I reached up gently and traced the outside of the scar where the mark used to be and Sasuke just watched, letting me touch the marred skin. I was gentle and hesitant, but Sasuke left me to my devices and watched as I absently tried to understand just how it could possibly be gone…

I looked up at Sasuke our faces dangerously close. His eyes stared into mine, a mixture of sadness and anger. He whispered softly, "My brother…" he reached over his shoulder and grabbed my hand, gently this time. My heart sped up as his hand, sweaty and sticky wrapped itself around my small wrist. His knuckles were raw from punching the wall.

"Your brother sacrificed a lot for you…I know." Sasuke nodded. He knew I had heard everything in intelligence. When Ibiki interrogated him, I was one of the few who had to sort out the facts through nothing more than a false brick wall. I knew him personally and finding out the rest of the story was…difficult. But Sasuke told the truth in interrogation. There was no reason for him to lie. Suddenly I **did** feel like the bad person, shutting him out and blaming him for so much, despite all that he's been through. Sasuke leaned forward and rested his head against mine, his breath warm on my lips.

"Sakura…" he let go of my wrist. "Killing you would do nothing." he whispered. "Don't ask me to kill you when I have nothing left."

Why did my name sound absolutely sinful on his lips? I felt my heart fall to my stomach the same way it always did when I'm this close to him. This wasn't the Sasuke I remember, the man who I loved and feared. This Sasuke is broken and hollow.

And those eyes aren't his.

They were his brother's. I let him get hairs breadth away from kissing me before I push him away. I realize that I'm crying and he looks cold, shutting everything out again like he always does.

"You're not the Sasuke I knew, and you don't even deserve the little that you _do_ have." I wiped my eyes with my forearm and looked at him, hands tightly balled into fists, eyes cold but hurt shutting me out.

After everything that you've done to me I can't let you into my life again, Sasuke. Please understand that. You've hurt me way too much for me to trust you…

But I don't say that. I take a step forward to go back to bed and my head reels and I'm falling…

…

"Sakura-san,"

I could hear my name being called…but it sounded like there were multiple voices.

"Sakura-san wake up." The voices pushed my shoulder and I groaned, my head was pounding with a hangover and I desperately needed pain medication. Ugh.

"Sakura-chan, wake up!"

"Ugh…Naruto go away…" I pulled my pillow over my head. My headache was making my ears ring.

"See Sasuke-teme, she's fine!" Naruto pulled me up and handed me an aspirin and a glass of water. Hinata gave me a small smile and asked me if I was feeling all right.

"I am never drinking again…" I finished the water and set the glass down on the coffee table.

"Sasuke told me about the ambush last night are you ok? You have a huge purple bruise on your forehead." Naruto brushed my hair away and I winced as he brushed against the bruise. I guess I have more than just the drinks to blame for my hangover.

I'm gonna bash the bastards head in at interrogation today…

"I'm fine, Naruto really. They were rogues at best; they had no idea what they were doing. Their only motive was to get revenge on us for killing his brother because of the syringe we were transporting back from Suna."

"The one you, Neji and the Suna medics were working on for Tsunade obaa-chan?" I nodded and pressed my hand to the bruise to ease some of the pain and I looked around the living room, finally able to see just how bare the walls of this temporary apartment were, as well as the stack of unwashed dishes in the sink. Sasuke sat across the room with his arms crossed, not looking at anything but the floor.

"You know you never told me what it was?" Naruto poked me in the shoulder.

"It's top secret baka, I couldn't tell you if I wanted to." That syringe was under top security and I had to develop a second one by the end of this week…

"Aww come on Sakura, you can tell me! You developed it didn't you?"

"Well yeah, but all I can tell you is no touching! It's unstable."

"You told me that on the mission!" he pouted and Hinata giggled.

"Naruto-kun, I'm sure Sakura-san will tell us If the experiments are a success." Naruto rolled his eyes at me and kissed his fiancé. Hinata blushed and I felt happy for the couple. They worked well together.

"Experiments?" Sasuke asked.

"It's an unstable vaccination we're developing and we have to find a way to make it…not kill the client." I explained. "I can't reveal much more than that." Hinata nodded and Sasuke just quizzically raised an eyebrow before returning his attention to the floor.

"Well, Sakura, Tsunade wants to see you in her office, in about an hour. She wants to know about the attempted ambush and also," he jabbed a finger at Sasuke, "Bastard needs a checkup." He grinned and Sasuke just sighed with a muttered "fuck".

I pulled myself off the couch and grabbed my shoes from the door.

"Come on, lets make a quick run to my house before your doctors appointment. I need clean clothes and a shower." Naruto grinned and took over the couch before pulling Hinata onto his lap, glad to have more time with his girlfriend. Sasuke pushed himself off the wall and put on his shoes before coming with me.

My house wasn't far from here, just 4 blocks east of the apartment. However, the company left something to be desired because the walk was completely quiet the whole way there. And we would've been there faster if Sasuke had any chakra to use, but unfortunately the seals prevented him from doing much. It's not like I was complaining. Sometimes it just felt nice to be able to walk casually, like I'm no better than anyone else.

The outfit was getting me quite a few stares though…

I never got the chance to change out of my club clothes so I'm walking down the street looking like a cheap whore who just woke up. Meanwhile, Sasuke walking not 4 steps behind me looks casual and aloof. Great.

I hear a whistle and I turn my head to see Kiba and Akamaru, Kiba whistling "Nice outfit hot stuff!" I flipped him the finger and laughed. Sasuke just stared ahead and ignored his whistles.

We finally reached the door to my apartment and the minute my hand touched the doorknob I was on edge.

It was warm.

Not just warm but...lingering, s if someone was trying to open my door not too long ago.

Instead of putting the key in the deadbolt I tried turning the handle.

It was open…I never leave my apartment unlocked. I checked the deadbolt on the door and it was melted off, leaving the lock completely useless. Something was very wrong.

"Sasuke?" I turned towards him and he looked at me questioningly. I reached behind me and pulled a kunai out of a pocket in my outfit. "Take this…" He just nodded and followed me inside. The living room looked normal enough, nothing seemed like it was out of place…but my bedroom door was open. And there was the smell!

I reached underneath the couch cushion and pulled out a spare kunai before silently making my way to my bedroom.

It's a disaster. My mattress is in shreds and thrown against the window, my dresser drawers are open and empty, its contents spilling out to the floor. In the middle of the mattress I smelled burning flesh, and a dismembered arm was laying charred on the floor.

"What…?" I dropped the kunai onto the floor and saw the blood from the arm trail towards my closet, the only thing that looked intact, but the smell there was terrible. The entire room smelled of death and rotting corpses. Sasuke walked over to my closet, holding his breath and flung open the door. The dead body of Mao Ikuza toppled out of the closet covered in dirt and flies. Sasuke covered his nose and stepped away from the body.

"Sakura, do you know him?" he spoke through his hand.

I staggered a bit on my feet and ran out of my bedroom towards the bathroom and bent myself over the toilet, Sasuke ran after me and held my hair back as I puked from the stench and the shock. This can't be happening…shit no…

"Sakura?" Sasuke stroked my back in an attempt to calm me down after I was done emptying my breakfast into the toilet. "Who was that body?" I wiped my mouth with toilet paper and flushed the evidence down the toilet. My head was spinning and no matter how much I tried I could still smell death and to know that I was the one that caused all of this mess…

How could anyone know about him? That experiment was secret and confidential and we had cover stories and…

"Sakura?" Sasuke gently and awkwardly stroked my hair back onto place as I finished vomiting.

"He was a criminal, locked up in the Konoha Maximum security prison." Sasuke handed me a glass of water to wash out the taste in my mouth.

"Why was his body in your bedroom closet?" I gulped down the water and stared at my disheveled appearance in the toilet bowl before answering him.

"I killed him."

…

Sasuke and I stood outside the now quarantined apartment as ANBU and police forces worked to clear out the body and check for any other possible damage or traps or poison. Obviously I was their target tonight, but instead I had stayed at Sasuke and Naruto's apartment, those two goons from last night were probably on their way back from this disaster when they realized I wasn't at home where I should have been.

"That man was robbed from his grave, because you killed him?" Sasuke asked again. I never really explained everything that happened because I had to send out an alert call and get that awful stench out of my home. Of course, I probably won't be going back there, since whoever was trying to kill me knows where I live, its not safe for me.

"He was the first test subject, for the vaccine I'm developing. Once the effects backfired, he started getting severe seizures and died from cardiac arrest and he had these violent reactions and…it was terrible. The serum contained inside the vaccination had a negative effect on his heart, disintegrating his blood vessels causing severe internal bleeding."

"What is the vaccine, exactly? And why does it have a danger to the human receiving it?" Sasuke asked. This has to be the most normal conversation we've had in years and it happens to be top secret.

"I'll tell you and Naruto tonight." I promised. Sasuke nodded and we started walking towards Tsunade's office.

We walked in silence, the smell still lingering in everything I'm wearing. I couldn't take a shower in there…not with everything in that apartment now. I'm going to burn everything in my room, my clothes, everything. Start new, I have plenty of money saved up of course that means I have to get an entirely new wardrobe and mission gear and a new lab coat for work…maybe even a new apartment…

…

"Enter!" Tsunade-shishou's voice boomed from the office. Sasuke and I entered and she immediately stood up, a look of anger on her face. The air was tense and I knew the minute I saw the sake bottle crash to the floor we were knee deep in shit.

"How did this information leak, Sakura ?" she said calmly. Her voice was steady and level but her eyes looked like they wanted to strangle me, and that is never a fun experience. "you were almost _killed?_!" she slammed her hands down onto her desk and stormed over to Sasuke and I, standing at attention under the pressure of her yelling at me. "How did this information become known to two useless rogues with pathetic shinobi training?" she yelled and I flinched.

"I'm sorry, shishou." Tsunade took a deep breath and grit her teeth before she rounded on Sasuke and glared.

"You." She pointed. "You have caused me nothing but trouble since the day we threw your sorry ass in prison!" Tsunade-sama walked over to her desk and hastily grabbed a folder with Sasuke's genin picture paper-clipped to the front. "A 10 million yen bounty on your head? You have got to be kidding me! Every fucking bounty hunter and rogue and even village leaders are after your body, dead or alive!" She threw the folder at Sasuke and its contents spilled out onto the floor. "Do you know how much this could affect Konoha? We just finished with all of the damaged you and your little posse caused, rebuilding what was destroyed from pain's attack nearly 4 and a half years ago and now I'm going to have every self righteous shinobi in Japan knocking down our doors to get to you for a _10 million yen bounty_! If I had half a mind I would turn you in for the money myself but your teammates protected you, kami knows why!" Tsunade-sama picked Sasuke by the collar and lifted him off the ground, his expression unmoving before she threw him against the wall, the sharp sound of collapsing drywall filled the office.

Happy birthday to me…


End file.
